Lady of the Book 4:The Journey Home
by Athena191
Summary: Aurora knew that married life to Legolas as Queen of the Witch Nation wouldn't be easy, never could they imagine just how hard it would be to create a life together. The whole world seems determined to rip them apart, but only Aurora knows just how much of the future hangs in the balance of their union lasting. Adult themes and language, M for safety.
1. A long awaited party

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien . My only people are Aurora, Chad,Tansy,Arianna, Judith,Ray,Hazel,Prince Bardis,and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. but if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 1: A long awaited party

_I've been looking for you forever baby we go  
Together baby we go, we go  
In this crazy world of choices I've only got a few  
Either you're coming with me, or I'm coming with you  
Cause I finally found, I finally found you_

"_Finally Found you" – Enrique Iglesias_

She was nervous. No, nervous was an understatement, she was terrified. In all the wars she had fought over her short twenty-three years, she had never been more scared than in this moment right now. Her panicking mind screamed for her to make a run for it, but in reality she knew that wasn't an option. What was she even _doing_ here? Aurora let out a long shaky sigh and smoothed her dress out with trembling hands. A knock at the door behind her made the young witch jump.

"Doing okay in here?" Bardis poked his head in through the doorway, and Aurora put her hand over her heart as if to prevent it from leaping out of her chest. When Bardis realized that she was an emotional wreck, he stepped fully in the room and closed the door behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Aurora squeaked in a voice that wouldn't convince anyone. She turned to look in the mirror at herself and could see the see Bardis' reflection doing the same.

"You know I never thought the day would come when I would see you in a wedding dress," Bardis came over to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly hug. She could hardly believe it herself, even now looking in the mirror. The light bluish silver dress fell all the way to the floor, hugging her curves in a flattering though non-scandalous way. The color itself had been a point of contention for a few months now, Legolas had wanted her to wear white and Aurora had refused. White was considered a bad luck color to her people, it was too easily manipulated by other colors and that symbolism wasn't lost on her people, and bad luck wasn't something Aurora needed any more of. Between the stress from planning the wedding and the terror of the commitment about to be made, Aurora's emotions were frazzled to say the least. She wanted to marry Legolas, that wasn't in question at all, but somehow the thought of shackling someone else's life to her own reckless life in holy matrimony made her paralyzed with fear.

"I have a bad feeling," Aurora mumbled.

"You always have a bad feeling." Bardis said and gave her a playful shove and moved to grab her veil off a nearby chair. The look he saw on her face made him stop short. " Stop it, you of all people are not allowed to have cold feet the day of your wedding. After the life you have had you deserve this, I can attest to that. Plus my father will be absolutely devastated if he can't walk you down the aisle."

Aurora didn't know where she would be without Bardis. All her life, through thick and thin he had been the best friend she ever could have asked for. There wasn't anything she couldn't go to him for help with, there wasn't anything she couldn't confide in him. Well, almost anything.

"I think your father would be happier if it was you I was marrying."

"That crazy old man? He wants you to be happy, which is the exact same thing your dear parents would have wanted, Beings rest their souls. And I for one am not going to stand here and let you somehow guilt yourself out of being happy. I have never seen you as happy as you are with him." Bardis positioned the veil on Aurora's head along with her crown. As he did Aurora reached up and tousled his short cropped brown hair.

" So when do I get to be a witness at your wedding to that pretty little thing from the Southern Clan?"

"Do not even joke about that, especially around my father. Last thing you need to do is encourage him." Aurora and Bardis shared a good laugh, as they hooked arms and headed out the door to the ceremonial room. Just a few moments of talking to Bardis had calmed Aurora's nerves. Outside the double doors to the ceremony hall, Bardis' father ,Thair , was waiting to walk her down the aisle. Bardis gave her arm a pinch and before she could retaliate, he slipped through the doors to take his place amongst the witnesses.

"My goodness you look like your mother, " Thair said as she took his arm. Aurora got a little choked up at the idea of her parents missing this day. When they had died all those years ago, she never would have imagined she could miss them more today than that fateful day thirteen years ago, " They would be so proud of the woman you have become, and I can't imagine they could have hand-picked finer husband for you." Aurora was surprised to see Thair getting emotional too. She reached over and hugged him, and they remained in an embrace for a few moments.

"You have always been like a father to me." She said as they pulled apart.

" Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be." The two doormen opened the large French doors to reveal the ceremony hall. It wasn't very large, it comfortable sat about 150 people. Since the ceremony hall was only used for royal functions such as weddings and coronations, it didn't have to seat very many. When the doors opened, all the witnesses stood as the wedding march started. Aurora took a second to glance around the room at the dignitaries from the other Dimensions that had come here to bear witness to her wedding, at least one from every Dimension. Thanks to Aurora's many alliances there had been no shortage of other Dimensional guests. Bardis was near the front with an empty seat that Thair would soon occupy, and she could see Aragorn and Arwen in the crowd of people as well.

When her eyes locked with Legolas' though, standing at the front of the hall with the Ceremony Officiate, it was as if the rest of the room just faded away. He was truly striking in his traditional Silvan wedding robe. In that instant; any doubt or worry she had simply melted away, and the only thing in the world she wanted was to have the ceremony be done and to say that she was his, and he was hers. As Thair walked her down the aisle, her eye contact with Legolas never broke. At the front of the hall, Aurora took her place on the dais with Legolas and the Ceremony Officiate, Thair gave her hand one last comforting squeeze before he headed back to his seat.

"Lords and Ladies, Kings and Queens, dignitaries and royal officials," The officiate said as he stepped forward between Aurora and Legolas, " You have been called to bear witness to the joining of these two souls. If there should be any legal reason these two should not be wed, speak up now or forever hold your peace." Aurora glanced at the audience as if daring someone to challenge their marriage, when no one spoke up she gave a small sigh of relief.

"No objection being heard I deem this union lawful. The bride and groom shall now recite their vows." Reaching in his pocket, the officiate pulled out two rings, handing one to Legolas and the other to Aurora. The bride and groom joined hands to recite their vows and with a nod of his head , the officiate indicated to Legolas to start.

"I, Prince Legolas Greenleaf, in the name of the spirit of the Valar that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, Aurora Borealis Queen of the Witch Nation, to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself. With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honour; and all my worldly goods with thee I share. Amen." He slid the silver ring onto Aurora's hand, and she had a big dopey grin on her face the whole time. She looked to the officiate for permission to recite her own vows, and with a nod of his head and deep breath, she began.

"I, Aurora Borealis Queen of the Witch Nation, in the name of the spirit of the Beings that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, Prince Legolas Greenleaf, to my hand, my heart, and my spirit to be my chosen one. To desire and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for neither can exist in the purity of my love for you. I promise to love you wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change you in any way. I shall respect you, your beliefs, your people, and your ways as I respect myself. With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honour; and all my worldly goods with thee I share. Amen." She slid the ring onto his finger, then interlaced their fingers to hold each other's hand. The Officiate laid his hand over their intertwined hands, and started to ties a wide ribbon around their hands to bind them together.

"By the power that the Beings rendered unto the people, mayst thou love each other. As the sun follows its course, mayst thou follow your other. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, May thy presence be with you, and the one that you love, 'til death comes to part you asunder." The Officiate finished his speech at the same time he finished tying their hands together. Aurora couldn't help but notice just how well they had been tied together, the officiate was a master knot tier apparently. Which in reality was a good thing since according to both Witch and Elvish customs the knot had to hold for a full 24 hours. When the officiate finished his speech, Aurora and Legolas responded their part in unison.

"We swear by peace and love to stand, Heart to heart and hand in hand. Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now, Confirming this, our Sacred Vow."

The officiate grabbed a large chalice that was filled with wine from the table behind him, turning back to the couple he placed his other hand atop the ribbon that tied them together, "You are now stitched together, and what love and fate had tethered, may no force in the universe have the strength to undo." He handed Legolas the chalice and the Elf prince took a drink and passed the chalice to Aurora, who in turn also took a drink. After they had both drank from the chalice, Aurora handed it back to the officiate.

"You were two souls, now you are one. Here witnessed by all the Dimensions and in sight of the Beings. May you know long life and happiness together. You may kiss the bride." Legolas took Aurora's face in his hands, leaned in and kissed her deeply. When their lips touched the room exploded into applause and cheers, even Bardis' obnoxious whistling. When he finally pulled away, they raised the hands that had been tied together for the crowd, and the applause grew louder.

Standing on the dais together, hand in hand, in front of the crowd, Aurora's heart filled with hope. She only knew a few things for sure, for one she knew that seeing the future was unreliable no matter how powerful she was, things changed all the time that she couldn't control. She also knew that no matter what path the future chose to take, it would be tumultuous. But most importantly she knew that she had an elf who loved her, who would stand by her, and as husband and wife, they would face whatever was to come together.


	2. Challenge

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien . My only people are Aurora, Chad,Tansy,Arianna, Judith,Ray,Hazel,Prince Bardis,and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. but if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 2: Challenge

It wasn't any secret that marital bliss didn't last forever, and when you are the ruler of a powerful nation it certainly doesn't last long at all. As Aurora walked down the busy streets of New York city dodging between business men and women, it seemed surreal to her. It was as if life hadn't skipped a beat, like the War of the Ring never happened, except for having a husband to come home to everyday, life hadn't changed a bit. After being in Middle Earth for almost a year and then being gone on a month long honey moon across the Dimensions with Legolas, Aurora had expected that she would need time to adjust back to her own world but that hadn't been the case. Some subtle things had changed however, which was why she was running late again, she had gotten so used to walking everywhere. It really brought to light just how much people in her own world took for granted, because even though Legolas was adjusting to the culture in New York, there were certain roadblocks. Legolas wasn't real keen on the idea of microwaves, airplanes, or car alarms and subways especially terrified him. The whole month they had been back from their honeymoon Legolas had been engulfing himself in books from all the Dimensions that the Witch extensive library offered. Aurora didn't have any objection to that, seeing nine new Dimensions that a year ago you didn't even know existed could be a jarring. There were thousands of years of information, technology, and culture that Legolas had missed out on that he felt bound to catch up on. Since Aurora had to be taking care of her people she was only glad Legolas had found something to occupy his time while she was at the epicenter of Witch business.

Aurora finally reached her destination, fifteen minutes late, not that anyone would point it out to her. She climbed the large flight of stairs in front of the building. The building was maybe thirty stories, a simple grey stone complex that was completely nondescript in downtown New York, it wouldn't receive half a glance from a passerby. And if the simplicity of the building wasn't enough to turn a human away, the large sign with massive lettering that could be read from quite a distance away; World Integrated Trade and Commerce Headquarters. Yuck. No one would bother a place like that. Except maybe a person with a discerning eye that would see the sign for what it really was, an acronym spelling W.I.T.C.H . Pushing through the large double glass doors she entered into a lobby that looked like a million other lobbies in New York, complete with a receptionist at an oak desk. Aurora knew though that the "receptionist" was really a Mind Reader placed strategically at the front door to stop intruders or the occasional human who was just lost. Past the receptionist was a set of elevators, entering the first one that opened, Aurora pushed the illuminated button for the top floor. Aurora relaxed against the wall as the elevator made its slow ascent.

Only three more days left of this and she and Legolas would be headed back to Mirkwood for a month. It had been one of the first things they had to discuss as a married couple was how much time would be spent in each world. One month in each was the only reasonable concession they had been able to make, since as the ruling party Aurora couldn't be away from New York for very long and it certainly wasn't fair to Legolas to ask him to be away from his own people for too long. After the honeymoon they had come back to New York and were nearing the end of the first month here. Only three days left. And with any luck those would go by without a hitch.

Unfortunately for Aurora that wasn't to be the case. As she stepped off the elevator and walked the short distance to her office she saw a cream colored envelope with a wax seal sitting atop her other paperwork. The fact she had seen it at all was a miracle since Aurora's office was a mess. She wasn't thrilled to admit it but she wasn't the most organized woman in the world. Picking the envelope up she could see the wax seal was unmistakably that of the Council's. Aurora groaned softly, what a way to start the day, with her _favorite_ people. For half a second she really considered just throwing it away, but that would mean they would send another letter or maybe even a messenger to her office, it was better just to read it and reply so they would leave her alone. Popping off the wax seal she opened the letter and scanned through it quickly, and then went back again to read more carefully.

She spun on her heels and marched back out of her office and down the stairs one floor, not bothering to wait for the elevator. She stomped straight past the Council's receptionist who opened her mouth to say something and then snapped it back shut when she could clearly see Aurora was in no mood to play nice. Past the receptionist and flying around the corner Aurora scared the doorman who was lounging in a chair near to death. He jumped up shakily and opened the door and whispered a "My queen" as she moved past him without a second glance. Entering the Council's room, several sets of eye's looked up from around a boardroom table, shocked to see her.

"What the hell is this?" She held up the letter before they could give her a proper greeting.

"My Queen, we are honored to have you," The oldest of the Master Councilmen said.

"What is this?" Aurora repeated her question.

"Simply a worried Council bringing up some concerns to you." His calm almost smug demeanor irritated her in a way she couldn't explain.

"Is _that _what it is?" She dramatically snapped the letter around to look at it and then glared back at the Council Master. "Because what it looks like is you people trying to deny my child the right to the throne."

"It is only a suggestion, " A snippy old Councilwoman with a sharp nose started, " that you reconsider leaving your throne to some half-blooded monstrosity."

"My child." Aurora snapped back.

"We are concerned about how this may affect our people. I think all of us want what is best for the future of our kind." Aurora did not like the implication that the Councilman's words had, as if her child wouldn't be best for their people.

"Okay so what are you suggesting? I abdicate?"

"We think it would be best if your child was a full blooded Witch."

"Well my husband is an Elf, deal with it. Any child I have with him is going to be…" Her sentence trailed off as she realized what they hinting at, " You want me to have someone else's child? You want me to have an affair just so that you ethnocentric morons can have a full blooded Witch on the throne?"

There was a long pause and the Council men and women glanced at each other before deciding how to respond," If you decide to bear Prince Legolas' child resulting in a half-blooded heir we would be forced to question whether the child can reasonably rule the Witch peoples."

It was at this point that Aurora completely lost control of her temper, slamming her fists against the table that separated her from the Council, " You have no right to deny my child the throne! And this is no more than one your manipulative strategies to try and punish me for marrying someone of a different race. Well it won't work because I know the law, and I know that as my Council you don't have any power over who can and cannot ascend to the throne. "

"We did not object to your marrying Legolas as a gesture of…."

"You want a gesture?" Aurora cut him off, " Here's my gesture." She flipped the Council the middle finger and walked out of the room before they could get over their shock to answer her. That had been by far one of the most juvenile and impulsive things that she had ever done. Seriously what queen flips someone the bird? At least most of those silly mistakes could be blamed on her youth and inexperience, but that wouldn't last forever. At some point she was going to have to find a better way of dealing with the Council. The only reason Aurora didn't have the power to dissolve the Council which had caused her nothing but problems her whole life was because of the same set of laws protecting her child's claim to the throne now. Checks and balances, after all no one is a fan of a dictatorship. She left the Council's room and taking the stairs two at a time, headed for the roof. As she opened the door and exited to the roof a blast of midwinter air slapped against her face. Even without the proper winter gear, she couldn't hardly feel it though, the only thing she had was the boiling sense of rage in her gut.

Aurora knew she was right, at least about the Law. Rulers get to pick their own successors in her culture, end of discussion. There had never been a challenge to a successor, at least as far as Aurora knew, and she had studied the subject a lot on school… everyone in the royal family had to . Of course there was the one little matter that in over three thousand years of rulers and successors, she was the first one to marry outside her own race. In all ten Dimensions there were only a handful cases where two people of different cultures or races had cross married, and in almost every case it had started a civil war. That's all she needed. As far as Aurora knew there was only one other mixed race couple that currently sat on the throne anywhere in the universe. And maybe it was just that couple that held the answer to her questions about his slippery slope. It was brash and impulsive to go there without warning or without telling anyone, but what was Aurora if not reckless?

In the next moment, she was on her way back to Middle Earth.


	3. Walk alone

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien . My only people are Aurora, Chad,Tansy,Arianna, Judith,Ray,Hazel,Prince Bardis,and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. but if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 3: Walk alone

The alley was dark and secluded, the perfect place to jump back and forth between Dimensions without being seen by clueless humans, exactly what Aurora needed it for. She has found the alley while helping rebuild Minas Tirith after the War of the Ring. Not that she was going to need a secret spot to hop back and forth if everything in the upcoming trade summit went well, it would make Minas Tirith one of the biggest trade centers in all ten Dimensions. Until that point it was just one large human beehive, trying to maintain the idea that they lived in the only world that existed. Walking through the city in jeans, a knit top, and flats was going to get her noticed in this place but it didn't matter to Aurora. She just had to be fast.

The alley was about three levels down from where the palace was, and with the city being set up like a giant screw there were no shortcuts to be taken to get up there any faster. There weren't even any environmental breakers to slink around to help hide her from sticking out like a sore thumb, whatever people wanted to say about NYC being a concrete jungle it didn't have anything on the stone fortress of Minas Tirith. With a deep breath to steady her nerves she darted out of the alley and briskly started to ascend up the twisting road. She had to fight the urge to run which was a guaranteed way to get noticed, not that she wasn't already getting noticed. She made it all the way to the very gates of the palace before anyone tried to stop her. Thankfully in a medieval culture, women weren't seen as much of a threat until she was sprinting past the guards who were caught completely off guard. By the time they were on their feet to nab her, she had leapt clean over the large stone and wood gate, with a little magical assistance of course. Aurora knew the layout of the palace fairly well which is how she knew there would be four guards in the courtyard and another two guarding the door to the hall. Those six guards are why she hit the ground running. The shouts of the guards on the other side of the gate had alerted them to her presence, by the time she hit the ground and took off running, they were ready for her.

Thankfully, Aurora was quick and knew that none of the guards would physically try to harm her unless she showed deadly force. She dodged the first two easily, and the second set still seems reluctant to hurt her, making it easy to slip through their loose grips. The final set of guards near the door weren't so easy on her. Her fingertips had just barely grazed the door handle when she felt two chainmail covered arms lock around her. She made a gamble and let her whole body go limp, it paid off and the force the guard had used to lunge at her caused them to fall forward and propelled them right through the doors to the hall. The doors smashed opened and Aurora used the momentum to roll out of the guards grip.

"Stop!" Aragorn's voice boomed through the hall and every guard froze. Aurora turned to see Aragorn walking swiftly towards the mess she had made.

"My king the woman…"

"Get out," Aragorn said flatly, cutting off the guards fumbling excuse for the breach in security. Aragorn turned back to the group of counselors gathered around the table he had been at a moment earlier and simply waved them away.

"I'm so sorry for the mess, but I couldn't let anyone know I was here." Aurora said breathlessly.

"Think nothing of it." Aragorn led her over to the table his counselors had been at a moment earlier. Arwen entered the hall from the other side of the room, obviously hearing the commotion that Aurora had caused getting into the palace.

"Aurora, why did you not tell us you were coming?" She immediately came and sat down next to the witch.

"I couldn't, no one could know I was coming here."

"Why on earth not?" Aragorn asked.

"Because according to Witch law, now that I am Queen I have to have an armed escort when I jump between Dimensions. I just didn't have that kind of time, and I have to ask you something."

"Of course, what is wrong?" Arwen rested her hand over Aurora's in a comforting gesture.

"Nothing is wrong per se, but I have to know. Has there been any resistance to the two of you having a mixed blood child?" Arwen and Aragorn exchanged a look behind Aurora's back.

"No, none." Arwen said quietly.

"In the interest of being entirely honest, Arwen's choice of a mortal life has erased everything that makes her noticeable as Elf kind other than her ears. Any child we bear will not have any Elvin features." While Arwen's answer was intended for support, Aragorn was telling Aurora what she really needed to hear. No matter how she wanted to twist it, Aurora and Legolas were really on their own in this situation.

"You and Legolas…you are expecting?" The question was hesitant.

"No Arwen, not yet."

"Why pursue this question if you are not with child?"

"When I was crowned Queen the first paperwork I have to fill out is my bill of succession, that way if anything happened to me there would be a line of succession to follow. But after the paperwork was submitted the Council they told me that they wouldn't accept a half-blooded heir." Aurora agitatedly started to fidget with the corner of piece of parchment that was on the table as they spoke.

"Does your Council have the ability to deny…"

"No!" Aurora cut Aragorn's question off mid-sentence," They have no legal standing to deny my child the right to the throne."

"If they have no legal standing then I do not understand the problem," Aragorn sat across the table from where Aurora and Arwen were.

"Disperse the council." Arwen's suggestion, while appropriate to Middle Earth, stung because it kept rubbing in Aurora's limitations.

" I can't. Our monarchy is set up very different from most others. Yes I am the ruling head of my people, but the Council is elected by the people and it's a lifelong office, kind of like the supreme court. They have no legal restraint over me and my control over them is extremely limited, but it's meant to keep power in balance. No, legally they cannot block the line of succession but they can make my life hell and can turn my own people against me." Her speech was followed by a long and heavy pause. The piece of paper she had been fidgeting with was long destroyed, Aurora hoped it wasn't important.

"What does Legolas have to say about this?"

"He doesn't know yet." Guilt still sat in the pit of her stomach for that. Strange as it seemed, her husband was actually the last person she thought about dumping this whole mess on. As a royal couple they were expected, nay it was their _responsibility_, to have an heir.

"You cannot hide…."

"I know!" Aurora hadn't intended to get snippy with Aragorn, but the situation was grating on her is such a way that her usual reserve was well gone by this point. "I just really wanted to have the answers before I had to tell him about all this."

"That is the best part of being married," Arwen said as she gave a loving goo-goo eyes look to Aragorn, "that you have someone to find the answers with."

Much to the witch's distress, Aragorn and Arwen weren't really any help. As much as Aurora wanted to stay in Middle Earth and just avoid all the drama and trouble that awaited her in New York, she couldn't stay in the white city any longer. She graciously thanked Aragorn and Arwen for their time and kindness and apologized again for the mess with the guards, then she quickly made the jump back to her own Dimension, clear across the universe. She landed back on the roof of the state building where her office and the Council was located, not to mention all the ambassadors. In her heart Aurora didn't have the will to face them now, for surely word of what had transpired with the Council this morning had already spread in rumors like wildfire. Glancing up at the setting sun and the gathering clouds, the young queen decided today was a good day to play hooky, especially since time had gotten away from her in Middle Earth and there was hardly enough time left in the work day. No Aurora had a better idea in mind, a place where she could go and always feel safe.

There were never many visitors, the silence and solitude of this place was a very attractive feature to the young witch. The red brick building that served as the entrance, though made to look like a church, was nothing more than a place of mediation for her people, serving no real religious purpose. She walked straight through to the back and out the door leading into the yard. Most people were creeped out by graveyards, but Aurora had always had a sense of home in this place, no doubt because of her early and constant exposure to death. The ground crunched beneath her feet as she walked along the dirt path between the rows and rows of grave stones and mausoleums, though it hadn't snowed yet in New York the dipping temperatures ensured everyone was greeted with frost and frozen earth in the mornings.

Her destination was at the very back of the graveyard, where all of the members of the royal families were buried. Her parent's mausoleum was truly a work of architectural art, she had marveled again and again at the amazing granite work the man had done. Any passerby would have to do a double take to make sure that the building wasn't in fact covered in vines but that had been the artists intent. Aurora sat at the little bench in front of the great stone monument to her parents. This was normally the one place that she could come to get something off her chest, to bare her soul and work through some problems as if her parents were really there to help her. But today there was so much, too many words, and Aurora was having a hard time getting it out.

Looking up at the black and grey stone artwork, for the first time Aurora felt the sense of being dwarfed. Would her life ever amount to this monolithic display of love and devotion from her people, or was she doomed to be the one who burned to the ground everything her ancestors had worked for?

"I'm sorry." It was the only words that she could say before the tears slowly started to leak from the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough, I'm sorry that nothing that I do will ever add up to what was expected of me, I'm sorry that I will single handedly bring down the empire and end the family line, and I'm sorry I don't have all the answers. But you left me here alone. I only did what I thought was truly right but it's a long and lonely road, when you know you walk alone. And I have been, since the day I lost you out on that battlefield, I have been alone. All the lies, all the under handed politics, the future of our people… you guys left all that in the hands of a ten year old, and for years I have been doing everything that I thought you expected of me. I hardly lived one day for myself after you died, and the one thing I ever did for myself…it could ruin our nation. I am sorry that I will never add up to all this," Aurora gave a wide sweep of her hands to indicate the mausoleums of her parents and all her deceased ancestors. With a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart, Aurora placed her head in her hands and let the crocodile tears flow. "I'm so sorry."


	4. Of Hypocrites and Liars

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 4: Of Hypocrites and Liars

Time passed for Being's only knew how long, and Aurora sat there with her head in her hands feeling helpless and alone in her sea of sorrows. After a while the tears stopped, and Aurora sat in the cold bitter silence of the graveyard, feeling more depressed and alone after yelling at a gravestone than ever before. The clouds rolled overhead, the promise of a winter storm in their growing darkness.

She didn't need to see him to know when he was standing there, she could practically taste his aura she was so used to it by now. And why shouldn't she be, she was married to him after all. He sat down next to her silently, his natural Elvish graces allowing him to move around like a ghost, a little too fitting considering the surroundings. Aurora was slowly getting used to it, and Legolas was slowly learning not to sneak up behind her. He sat on the bench next to her in front of her parent's mausoleum, and joined in her quiet contemplation. Aurora knew though that if Legolas had come to find her then time must truly have gotten away from her.

"How did you know I was here?" She looked up into her husband's face.

"I went to find you and walk home with you when the day was done, but the young lady at the front door informed me you had left in quite a hurry a few hours before to come here." Of course. It sometimes slipped her mind that the receptionist was a Mind Reader, not that Aurora focused on shielding her thoughts in her own world anyway. Nodding her head was the only response she gave as she stood up from the bench to go home. When things had been really bad, Aurora had sat on that very bench for whole days at a time, basking in the comfort of being near her parents; but today there was no reprieve from her troubles, so why stick around? Legolas followed Aurora's lead and left the bench to follow her out of the courtyard and onto the streets of the city. The walk wasn't bad anymore, Aurora had gotten used to walking everywhere in the city by this point, so the time felt short. It had however gotten brisk out and that made her immediately regret not having brought a coat, especially when the gentle winter winds sent chills throughout her body. Entering the warmth of the apartment was a huge relief.

"Do you plan to tell me what troubles you?"

Damn. Barely ten feet in the door and Legolas was already asking her. It was obvious though wasn't it? Why else would she have left her queenly duties to go sit at the grave of her parents if something wasn't horribly wrong? Aurora didn't answer immediately, and Legolas sighed deeply at her silence before he sat on the couch.

"I understand that you are in the habit of keeping your secrets and your business to yourself…"

"I went to Gondor." Aurora cut him off before he could launch into another speech about how as a married couple she could rest all her troubles on his shoulders because he was there to support her. Old habits die hard though. Her response caught him off guard she could tell by his face, he seemed slightly irate about it too. "I got into a fight with the Council and I went to Aragorn seeking advice. I was only there for maybe an hour at best, that's why I didn't tell you ahead of time that I was going."

"What did you fight with the Council about?" Double damn. Of course that is what Legolas would focus on; she couldn't slip anything past her husband anymore. She sighed deeply at the choice she now faced. Either confess everything or try and lie. Wasn't even really a choice.

"The Council is trying to build a case against the right of succession for our child." Even the words coming out of her mouth sounded otherworldly and unreal. The words hung in the air between them like a smothering fog, weighing them down as Aurora waited for Legolas' response.

"What is their reasoning?" Simple and direct, that was always Legolas. Aurora mustered the strength to look him in the eyes, and something in her expression seemed to tip him off to the answer because his face went totally deadpan. Her eyes had told him what she didn't have the willpower to say. "I though your people were….tolerant."

That comment tweaked her nerve. "Of course we are tolerant of the average mixed blood citizen, but you have to admit our situation is a little unique. When I give birth it will be to a half Elf, half Witch Foreseer immortal who will one day rule my people." She was exasperated, she couldn't help it. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and Aurora sat across from Legolas in a chair with only a coffee table separating them. Aurora had thought she had cried herself out at her parents grave, but apparently she as wrong. Her vision blurred a little bit as she felt her eyes filled up again with tears under the scrutiny of Legolas' gaze.

"This does not change anything." He whispered after a pregnant moment of silence.

"It changes everything!" Aurora choked out as the tears started to flow again. She swore she had never cried so much in her whole life as she had in the last 24 hours.

"Why? Why must it change? You had claimed another successor…Chad. He will be an excellent leader in your stead, and my people in Mirkwood would like to an heir too I think."

"Legolas I can't. I can't leave my people without an heir from my bloodline."

"Do you remember telling me that you were not sure it was for the best of your people that a Foreseer was on the throne? That perhaps more could be done from the "sidelines" as you said?" How could she forget that conversation? It had happened back during the War of the Ring, when she had been recovering (the first time) from broken ribs.

"I said I believed that _I _could do more by not being on the throne, you always knew I never really wanted to be a Queen. I fulfilled a promise to my parents by taking the throne, but I know I could use my Gift better to serve my people if I wasn't on the throne. Me. Myself. I didn't say what I said to include our offspring."

"So for everything you said, your truly believe that a Foreseer belongs on the throne." It wasn't a question. And his tone indicated that he was pissed off. And that just made Aurora's tears flow faster.

"Of course I believe that! Do you have any idea how many wars are avoided _daily _because of what we see? The littlest decision can lead to chaos and it's our job to use our Gift to control that chaos." Aurora tensed up as Legolas suddenly got to his feet, and stared her down from across the table.

"When I married you, I could accept that your allegiance would always be to your people first, but I cannot accept being lied to." He spun and stalked down the short hallway past the kitchen and into the bedroom. Aurora could have let him walk away and allowed the situation to diffuse, but letting confrontation walk away wasn't in her nature. She was immediately on her feet following the Elf into the bedroom.

"So I'm a liar?" She called after him as she stomped her way after him. His lithe frame filled the doorway as if by magic and Aurora had to halt on her toes to prevent running into him.

"Did you ever have any intention of following through on your promise?" It was a meaningless phrase to anyone else, but it stung Aurora right in her heart. The first fight as a married couple sucked, anyone knew that, but shouldn't it be over something silly like bathroom habits or the color of drapes? Why should it be over the fate of their family? The fate of their people? More than that, why did it seem like Legolas was intentionally trying to hurt her with his words? She had screwed up, Aurora knew that. She had long ago accepted that she would never be the ideal wife, or even the ideal Queen, but dammit if she didn't try, and now she wasn't even getting credit for that. Her own husband, the man she had fought alongside, whose world she had _died_ defending, couldn't even support her. The tears had stopped and her temper was quickly rising. In the back of her head a voice was telling her to reel it in before it became a shouting match, but she had thrown common sense to the wind.

"Oh so I'm a liar AND a hypocrite?" Her voice rising with her irritation.

"If the boot fits." His voice matched hers in volume and tone.

"Yeah it must be really easy to judge me from the cheap seats Legolas, to tell me how to lead my people and what decisions to make when you have never had to make a single choice as a ruler!"

"Stupidity is stupidity; it does not matter if you rule a nation or a group of traveling bards, and is easily recognizable by the same." That was where Aurora hit her limit, she had been called much worse by others, but being called stupid by Legolas was just too much. She spun on her heels and headed for the door, grabbing her coat from the back of the couch, and she could barely hear Legolas' footsteps following after her.

"Where are you going?" He asked just as her fingers touched the doorknob, and she snapped.

"I don't know Legolas, wherever hypocrites and liars go!" Aurora opened the door, stepped through into the hallway, and slammed the door with every bit of strength she could muster. The boom from the slamming door echoed down the hall, and she had no doubt everyone on this floor, hell in the building, had just heard that. The door had barely shut all the way before Aurora was filled with shame and guilt. She stood there, waiting outside the door for a moment, knowing only two things. She knew that Legolas was standing just on the other side of the door, and she knew that he knew she was standing here waiting. Hubris was a horrible thing, and that prevented them from opening the door and being the first to say sorry. It was that same flaw that caused Aurora to jump to a different Dimension, mere seconds before Legolas opened the door to find an empty hallway.


	5. Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 5: Secrets

Fire was always a comforting element. The way it gracefully moved over whatever it burned, almost like a dance in its destruction. Aurora sat mesmerized by this very dance of destruction as she watched the logs in the fireplace succumb to the natural force of fire and enjoyed the warmth it gave off. A movement in her peripheral made her jump and she tore her eyes away from the fire.

"Good grief what are you so jumpy for?" Barids laughed and handed her a mug of spiced tea before he sat down in the chair adjacent to where she was sitting.

"Sorry I was so focused on the fire…lost in thought ya know?" She took a deep drink of the tea. Her favorite. Bardis always knew how to make her feel better. By this time he should know how to, she couldn't count the number of times she came come to his door at all hours of the day and night disheveled and upset seeking his comfort. But it was a two way street, for many years Aurora's apartment in New York had been Bardis' place of solace from his own troubles. Tonight was no different from any other night, they just sat talking for hours about nothing or reminiscing over the past.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked over the lip of his own mug. Aurora glanced out the window, to the very plains where her parents had been killed over a decade ago. Despite the traumatizing memory of losing her parents here, Aurora had never begrudged this world or this very palace any hard feelings. Perhaps it was the fact that this place was the last she had seen her parents alive that it comforted her so.

"My parents never used to fight." Aurora sighed as she continued to glance out the window to the place of her parents' death. The snort that came from Bardis made her turn her head back.

"Of course your parents fought. Just because you never saw it doesn't mean it never happened. Your parents had years of practice fighting together before you ever even entered into the world, they just learned not to do it in front of you."

"Did your parents ever fight?" It was a tender subject, but they knew each other well enough that Bardis wouldn't be offended by the question.

"Like cats and dogs. When my mother died, those fights plagued my father for years. I would find him wandering in the hallway crying and mumbling to himself about the color of the rugs or the Yuletide goose, stupid things that they had fought about when she was alive. " The image broke Aurora's heart. She remembered the day that Bardis' mother had died in childbirth with his youngest sibling, it had been one more thing that solidified their friendship. They sat in silence sipping their tea for a few moments as the fire warmed the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Bardis asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Duh," Was the only reply he got as the witch took another long drink from her mug.

"You aren't going to like the way this sounds, but I hope you understand where this is coming from, " Aurora's eyes snapped up from her cup to Bardis and she felt herself tense up. This didn't sound good. Bardis took a deep breath and seemed to be second guessing whether he even wanted to ask her, " Why…why did you marry Legolas?"

The question caught her off guard and she let out an obnoxious nervous giggle, "Well because I.."

"I know you love him," Bardis cut her off as soon as she started, "but that's not what I'm asking." They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Then what are you asking me?" She had an idea.

"Did you marry him because you really wanted to be with him, or did you marry him because you saw something?" Bardis knew his question was going to upset Aurora, he expected to see a hurt facial expression but ultimately for her to be honest with him. He did not get what he expected. The sound of ceramic shattering surprised him and he realized Aurora had thrown her mug of tea hard against the furthest wall.

"I am _sick_ of being questioned by everyone!" Her voice as basically a shriek. "I am tired of people scrutinizing every decision I make! The Council, my people, my own husband and now you? Do you have any idea what I see every night when I close my eyes? Can you even comprehend the level of responsibility I have to deal with?!"

"Aurora, no one understands that better than I do," Bardis had his hands up almost in a surrender position, " How many nights did I hold you and comfort you when you had a particularly bad vision? I have been with you every step of the way since the first day you have had your Foresight." He stood and crossed to her placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Then why are you second guessing my decisions?"

"Because I have known you long enough to know that sometimes you make decisions not because it's what you want to do , but you feel you have to. Like the incident with the eagle?" The incident with the eagle, everyone loved to bring that up. If Aurora was honest with herself it was the perfect example of her picking duty over her own moral choices, why the hell else would she have been in that bird's nest otherwise? Aurora heaved a great sigh and the air whooshed loudly between her lips.

"Does it really matter why I married him? The end result will be the same either way, so why does it matter what anyone else thinks about why I married him?"

"It matters," Bardis whispered.

"Why?" Aurora barely had the word out of her mouth before Bardis grabbed the sides of her face, pulled her forward, and pressed his lips to hers. She let out a muffled yelp before she pushed herself out of his grasped and slapped him square across the face. She hadn't really intended to hit him, but it was a knee jerk reaction she couldn't suppress. They stood there staring at each other in shock, frozen in place and time contemplating each others' actions.

"Bardis, what the hell?" She finally gasped out.

"Why him?" He asked his question again his voice husky.

"Is that what's eating you? That I married an Elf that wasn't you?!" She ran her fingers over her lips, the lingering feeling of Barids' against hers was still fresh in her mind.

"We would have been perfect together. Our worlds, our cultures, already share so much."

"You are like a brother to me!"

"I would have been so much more if you had given me the chance. I have stood by and watched you torment yourself for years, watched your heart break, and could only love you from a distance. And I need to know right now if I am going to let you go, do you love him or do you need him?"

"Both." The answer came without hesitation. Aurora couldn't say that in her younger years she hadn't gone through brief periods of wanting something more with Bardis, but that changed when she had met Legolas.

"You had to know when you married him that you two were never going to have a single moment of peace as long as you were alive." Bardis said it in an offhanded way, but the reaction seen in Aurora's facial expression clued him into something, "Aurora what are you planning? Aurora?!"

But she was already gone.

Aurora popped back up in the hallway of her apartment complex and quickly looked around for witnesses. It had been a careless jump between Dimensions, but she just had to get away from that situation. Bardis knew her too well, he had seen something in her face in that last second, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Under normal circumstances Aurora would have just told him, confessed everything and been done with the secrets, but her trust in him had been shaken. Could she say she was surprised at Bardis' sudden proclamation of love for her? No. But it didn't change the fact that as a married woman, she was the last person he should be trying to kiss. She sighed deeply. Today was _the _strangest day of her life.

She took another glance around as she approached her front door. Legolas was a very lite sleeper the rare times he slept, and she had no desire to start up their argument from earlier, so instead of rattling the keys and trying to open the door quietly, she simply used magic to phase through it. Entering the living room, Aurora immediately walked over to the shelves and picked a picture up. She had dozens of pictures of her parents, but this one was her favorite. They looked so happy, wrapped up in each others embrace, like two normal humans instead of the rulers of a powerful nation of magic wielders.

Aurora had always wondered about the early years of her parent's marriage, but there was really no one to ask who knew the gritty details. How much had her mother told her father about the future? How had her father handled the fact that her mom was the primary ruler? These were things she could never know. One thing she did know about her parents, they were a team; and no one could dispute that.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Aurora realized that time had gotten away from her. Really gotten away from her. Between walking home, fighting with her husband, and visiting Bardis, the night was more than half gone. Looks like it would be yet another sleepless night for the young witch. Replacing the picture of her parents on the shelf where it belonged, she quietly slid down the hallway to the bathroom. Once she was in the bathroom, Aurora stripped down, turned the shower to warm, and hopped in. The sound of the water drumming against her was a strange kind of comfort as she stood under the water just listening, blocking out the world and all the stress that came with it. The sound of the shower curtain being pulled back yanked her from her reverie and she spun to see Legolas stepping into the shower with her.

The second she saw him she opened her mouth to apologize for being an ass, but she hadn't uttered a sound before his mouth was on hers. As their lips moved against each other and their tongues danced together, she knew everything was alright. She had forgiven Legolas, and Legolas had forgiven her for any horrible thing they had said in anger. She felt his large hands slide down her legs and easily lift her up with her back to the wall. For having a lean frame, Legolas was incredibly strong. She knew in years to come that make-up sex in the shower wouldn't be enough to sweep arguments under the rug, but for right now it was just fine. He sheathed himself inside her and their bodies began to move to their own silent synchronized rhythm. Their eyes met and their wet skin slid across the other, her hands gripping his strong shoulders. Her breathing changed to match their pace as the warm shower water continued to pelt their naked frames. Simultaneously their bodies tensed and their grips tightened as they reached climax together, Aurora letting out a cry of ecstasy. Panting , she lid from his grip and they stood holding each other as the last shivers of release coursed through them.

Standing there with her husband, Aurora had to admit one thing; Bardis hadn't been completely off base when he asked her that question. But she did love Legolas, without a doubt, even if she didn't know what she knew about the future she still would have married him. It was just nice that for once fate and her desires lined up on the same path. She couldn't keep acting like they weren't connected, as if Legolas didn't play some part in the future of…well…everything. He was more than just her husband, and the future father of her child, he was also her team; the only true honest unbiased support she would have from this point forward. With that realization Aurora understood, she was going to have to tell him everything.

**A/N: OK folks just a warning that from this point forward the chapters will jump in time, because no one I'm sure wants to read the monotony of everyday life, the chapters will basically just jump to the important events. Just an FYI**


	6. Loss

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 6: Loss

It didn't seem the calendar would change no matter how long Aurora looked at it. Those numbered boxes didn't change, didn't matter how she wished they would. She counted the days in her head, and counted them again using her fingers. Still the same number. Sixty consecutive days. She had missed her period….twice. Aurora ran her fingers through her hair none too gently and let out a ragged breath. To be honest she wasn't _that_ surprised that she hadn't noticed the lapse, between the travelling back and forth from New York to Mirkwood, Aurora was just a little stressed out... she just happened to look at the calendar that morning and noticed what day it was.

Immediately she reached for her cell phone and dialed an old familiar number. With a gasp she pulled her finger off the green send button as she realized what she was doing. With a feeling of guilt and regret she erased Bardis' number off the screen of her phone. It had been hard the last six months, learning to let go of such a cherished friendship. What else could she do? It was hardly fair to Legolas to remain best friends with an elf that had confessed his lover for her. It had been far from easy though, for her whole life when things had been bad she had run to Bardis for comfort and help, now she had to teach herself not to. Her heart ached to think about it. Legolas knew something was amiss between the two, but Aurora hadn't mustered the will to tell him what had happened, just that her and Bardis only had professional relationship now. After all, he would be the next king of his people, no point in severing all acquaintance.

Bardis, however, had made some valid points when last they had met. He had been there for all the good times and bad times. Every nightmare, every war, every holiday, every birthday had been spent with Bardis, he had been the one there for her when her parents died, no one knew her like he did- or had. The idea of building a similar relationship with someone else, even her husband, was an overwhelming thought.

"Hey sweetie?" She called to the other room, never having to be too loud considering how good the Elf's hearing was, "I am going to stop by and see the Healers on my way in to work." The word 'healers' was barely out of her mouth before Legolas was at her side.

"What is wrong?" He asked, concern written all over his face as he looked her over.

"Nothing," her voice came out squeaky, and she cleared her throat to bring it back to its normal alto tone, "I just need a checkup is all."

"Then I am going as well." Aurora opened her mouth to protest his decision but thought better of it. She knew he wouldn't change his mind. She shook her head in defeat and accepted that he was coming with her.

The School of Healing was located in an old brownstone house in Greenwich Village, which was quite the walk for the two of them, that made for a really long awkward silence. Legolas was anxious to know what was the matter, but he knew that Aurora would keep things bottled up until it eventually boiled over. He loved her dearly, but sometimes her stubbornness was enough to give him heart attack…if such a thing were even possible. The building was fronted to look like very private religious school from the front, and served as a finishing school for those with the Gift of Healing. Almost as soon as they entered the building, Legolas and Aurora were ushered upstairs to see the Master Healer. They passed Tansy in the hall and waved a greeting. If there was one person Aurora would have trusted with this, it would have been Tansy. But being Queen now, she had to be treated by a Master Healer only not by a student, even one as advanced as Tansy was.

The exam was long and silent, the Master Healer carefully using his magic to examine Aurora fully. Unlike Tansy, who still relied heavily on technology to diagnose and Heal, Masters needed only their two hands and their magic. After he had finished examining her, the Master Healer left the room to document his findings, leaving Legolas and Aurora to sit in silence in the examination room.

"Why will not tell me when something troubles you?" Legolas' voice broke the silence.

"I don't even know what's troubling me yet, that's why I came here." She replied with some exasperation in her voice. The look he gave her was enough for her to reconsider her tone. She thought back to that morning and how her first instinct had been to call Bardis instead of confide in her own husband. With a shrug of defeat she came clean, "I missed my…you know my _time_, for two months in a row now."

"You are with child?" Aurora couldn't ignore the twinkle in Legolas' eye when he asked her that question. She knew how much he wanted to be a father, how badly he wanted to have children.

"I don't think so. I haven't Seen this child's future, so I don't think I'm pregnant. Which is actually what has me worried." Legolas didn't get a chance to reply as the Master Healer walked back into the room, but Aurora could see the subtle look of disappointment on his face. As the Master Healer took a seat across from them in a large chair, both Legolas and Aurora couldn't help but to notice how nervous he looked. His hands kept fidgeting about.

"Well, my dear Queen, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that your reckless and often self-harming behavior in your youth has left your body a little worse for wear." Aurora didn't need him to elaborate on that. He was right after all; she really hadn't taken care of herself. Between the wars, that time she had stuck in a refugee camp, oh and that little bout of torture she had endured at the hands of 7th Dimension Immortal Clan…she wasn't surprised there were lasting effects from all that.

"The good news," The Healer continued, "Is that I believe with a little therapy and some reparation magic work we can reverse the worst of the scar tissue left over time. With any luck you should be able to have children by the end of next year." That was good news. But the Master Healer was still anxious about something, there was something else he was very reluctant to tell her. Legolas didn't seem to notice, one look at her husband's face and Aurora knew he had babies on the brain.

"But that doesn't really explain why I missed my cycle." The Master Healer shook his head in agreement with Aurora's statement, and a very strange expression came over his face as he choose his next words with incredible care.

"You did conceive. However there was no heartbeat in child. You will not carry this life to full term, and before the week is out you will miscarry. I am so sorry." It was like being struck across the face with a brick. The room started to spin a little as Aurora got light headed and she grabbed Legolas' arm for support.

"I understand. Thank you." It was a small miracle she even had the clarity of mind to utter those four words before she was on her feet and out the door. She let her feet lead the way, out of the school, down the road, straight to the subway station. Legolas was barely two steps behind her the whole time. Despite his objections to riding the subway, he didn't voice his unease and simply rode the train home by her side. She was quiet the whole way home, didn't speak even a syllable, there was just a glazed look in her eyes. By the time they had reached home, Legolas had grown very worried about her; she was acting so strange and erratic. He wanted to comfort her with words, but even as he tried to think of anything to say to make her feel better, he knew there would be no consoling her. As they entered their apartment, it was Aurora who finally broke the strained silence.

"I'm hungry, you want Chinese?" That was the Aurora he knew and loved. She would simply swallow the pain like it was nothing, pretend that nothing was wrong, like today was a day like any other. It was just her nature. He watched her cross the room to the drawer in the kitchen that had all the takeout menus stuffed in it, but as she shuffled around the papers, he noticed her hand shaking. It was just the slightest tremor, and only by the blessing of his excellent eye sight that he saw it. The news from the Healer had truly shaken her to her core. But Legolas knew his wife too well. She would never say a word about it; for the sake of appearances she would be strong. She was, after all, Aurora Borealis, what time did she have to be weak. Seeing her shake was the indicator that Legolas needed that mere words wouldn't be enough solace for Aurora. He walked to where she was frantically searching in the drawer and laid both his hands on hers to stop their movements.

"Aurora…" It was the only thing he had to say. She didn't look up to meet his eye, her shoulders slumped forward in defeat and a single tear slipped from her eye. Her voice barely above a whisper.

"I had a life…a life growing inside of me, and I just let it die." Legolas wrapped his arms around his distraught wife as soul wrenching sobs shook her whole body. As she buried her face in his chest, sobs gave way to cries of agony. Words would not be enough to alleviate the pain and guilt that consumed her, so Legolas just held her until she cried herself out.

For the sake of her mental stability, Legolas refused to let Aurora handle her queenly duties for two days, he kept her at home and tried his best to take her mind off what happened. It would work for short periods of time, but just as soon as Aurora seemed to stabilize herself, again she would break down into uncontrollable sobbing and blame herself for the miscarriage. Legolas would do the only thing he could do, hold her until the tears stopped and soothe her guilt by whispering assurances in her ear that this was part of some bigger universal plan. Legolas didn't know if grief could kill a Witch the same way it could kill an Elf, but if it were possible Aurora would have surely been dead. It broke his heart to hear her blame herself for the miscarriage, to lay that kind of burden on her shoulders was unfathomable to him.

The Master Healer had been correct, by the end of the second day after the exam, Aurora miscarried. The Healers put her in the best comfort they could, and they ensured she felt no physical pain during the event. Nothing, however, could be done to fix the pain in her heart. Legolas had always wondered, since the first day they had met, what Aurora's limit was. He was sorry she had to experience it for him to know that this right here was her breaking point. As he held her hand and smoothed her hair while the Healers worked, he made a silent promise that night to her that she would never feel this kind of heart break again, not while he still lived and breathed. For one moment, one single instant, Legolas allowed himself to share in her endless grief over the lost child, if only so she didn't have to feel it alone.


	7. Rules of Engagement

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 7: Rules of Engagement

The battle with depression after the miscarriage was long and took a huge emotional toll on both Legolas and Aurora. No matter how the Healers assured Aurora that there was nothing she could have done to save the baby, she blamed herself without ceasing. It had taken almost ten full months before any sense of routine and normalcy was returned to their lives, and it was that routine Legolas was so desperately trying to preserve. He had changed their route home so they no longer passed the park or the daycare center, he was careful not to mention children in front of her, and he was there for her at every appointment with the Healers where scar tissue was removed. Nothing he did however could have braced them for what happened that seemingly calm Wednesday morning.

Spring was just starting to emerge, and both the Elf and the Witch were taking advantage of the weather, wearing light jackets and taking the long route to the capitol in their walk to work. With the sun shining and the first of the robin's making an appearance, it didn't seem possible that anything could ruin such a perfect day. Appearances can be deceiving as many know.

The first indicator that something was amiss was written all over the face of the receptionist when they entered the capitol building. Her nervousness hung around her like a dark cloud, a clear beacon to anyone that today was not going to be a normal day. Aurora ignored the waves of emotion coming off the other Witch and entered the elevator and punched the button to the top floor. Legolas and Aurora looked at each other and shrugged. Their confusion was short lived however, the second the elevator doors slid open, there was Judith hopping nervously from one foot to the next. Judith had taken up an internship with the Council a little under a month ago, basically as a glorified message runner. The anxious behavior displayed by the Witch downstairs was nothing compared to how Judith was acting now.

Aurora had barely registered her former student in front of her before Judith blurted out, "The Immortals are here." That explained the odd behavior. If ambassadors from the seventh Dimension were here, much less from the Immortals Clan, it wasn't going to be an easy day.

"Where?" Was all Aurora could reply in a frustrated groan.

"They are with the Council, Chad is there too trying to keep them calm but they are obviously pissed about something." Judith explained the situation as the trio headed down the hall to where the Council room was, naturally that's where they were it was the only room with a tall enough ceiling.

"Thank you Judith, please go wait in my office, I am sure I will need you when this debacle is over." As soon as Judith was out of hearing range, Aurora turned to her husband, "Don't stare."

"I beg your pardon?"

"When we get in there, don't _stare_ at them." It was the only warning she gave him before she opened the door and let them into the large Council room. If this had been a normal meetings that followed proper protocol, Aurora would have known about it ahead of time and could have given Legolas a better warning than just 'don't stare'. The door to the Council room opened to reveal everyone inside, including all the members of the Council, Chad, and the three ambassadors. When Legolas caught sight of the ambassadors, he froze in awe. A gentle touch from his wife unfroze him and he took a seat at the large table and tried to look anywhere but at the ambassadors.

Aurora had been ready for his reaction, everyone reacted the same way the first time they saw one of the Immortals. 'Immortal' was actually a misnomer. It had been a simple mistake made several thousand years ago when people from the other Dimensions couldn't identify the difference because the people of Mistarei Tribe. They all looked exactly the same. Nine feet tall, alabaster skin, no hair, and sharp pronounced cheekbones. Even their voices were androgynous enough to be confused. It wasn't hard to see why someone could get confused. Based on photographic evidence anyone not used to the tribe would think they had the same ambassador for over 600 years.

"My friends, how nice to see you. I am sorry that I'm late, but had I known you would be here… I would have made a better effort to be on time." Flat out lie. Aurora was excited to see these three like a human was excited about a stroke. Diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy, she chanted in her own mind.

"Queen Aurora, I wish this were a friendly visit. However I come with some grave tidings." Aurora waved him on to continue with his 'tidings'. "Were you aware that your people still inhabit the land across the river?"

Based on the irritation in her…his…the ambassador's voice, this news was apparently supposed to invoke some level of shock or anger in Aurora. She just shrugged. "Yes I am aware that my people are still helping to rebuild the lands of Caanin. What of it?"

"The contract that allowed your people into their lands was only for the time of 6 months, that period ended nearly two weeks there and your people show no sign of leaving." Judith had been right, they were pissed.

"Yes, well, thanks to that little war your two countries had been fighting for the past few years, the job of rebuilding is quite the undertaking. About a month ago I renegotiated the contract with the Lords of Caanin to extend our stay til the job is finished. Since that contract wasn't in anyway related to your peace treaty I fail to see how my people being there is your business." She was being snippy, and honestly she didn't care. This particular group had always been a little high and mighty for Aurora's taste, and she didn't mind the opportunity to take them down a peg.

"It is our business because we believe your people are there to help rebuild their armies, not the land."

"The only Witches in the lands of Caanin right now are Earth Movers, Healers, and Flora Whisperers…hardly who I would use to build an army."

"Then as an act of good will, pull your people out."

"My people will leave when the job of rebuilding homes, healing the injured, sowing crops, and replenishing livestock has been completed."

"Up until this point your people have done a wonderful job, but I think the people of Caanin can take it from here." The level of tension in the room was growing quickly, it was so thick you could cut it with a feather. The Council and Chad were remaining quiet, probably had already heard their fill of the same argument before Aurora had even shown up.

"In case you didn't notice, their land is devastated. Death and destruction is kind of your people's specialty, trust me I know."

"Oh young Queen, again I apologize…as we said before my people had _no idea_ it was you that was in our dungeon over a decade ago." The over dramatic prose and shit-eating grin on his face indicated otherwise.

"I am sorry too ambassador," Aurora stood indicating the meeting was over, "that you came all this way to be told what I am sure you already knew. My people will leave when the job is finished."

"Your refusal will be perceived as a direct threat to my people."

"You can _perceive _it however you would like, doesn't change the facts."

"My dear, clearly you don't get it. It will be seen as an act of aggression, even as an act of war. That I am sure is not something you want for your people."

"No. You don't get it." Aurora leaned over the table so that she was invading the ambassador's close proximity. Didn't matter to her that she still had to look up into his face, "How dare you come into my world and assume you have any right to tell me how to govern over my over nation. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your pathetic display here hides the real reason you came here; to promote your own war mongering agenda!"

"Do not assume that we are afraid of you, my king has given me permission to declare war here and now if you refuse to remove your people from Caanin."

"Then declare war, " a sharp intake of breath from everyone in the room followed Aurora's statement, " if are foolish enough to. There hasn't been a nation dumb enough to declare open war against my people for over two thousand years, and you think you have the balls to? Go for it. But I can tell you that if you incur the full wrath of my people, not one man, woman, child, or elder shall be left standing at the end. No rock will be unturned in our pursuit of you. Your civilization will end and the last thing written in the history books about you will be that your arrogance in challenging my people to war is what wiped you from the universe." Her voice was barely above a hiss.

"That sounds, very much like a threat." The ambassador was being a little more careful in his choice of words now.

"Or perhaps I am using my Gift to predict the future…roll the dice and see if you dare." She spun and stalked out of the Council not giving the ambassador a chance to reply, Legolas and Chad were only a few steps behind her. She felt the distinct shift in magic that indicated the ambassadors had left through a portal back to their own dimension.

"Chad you are to put at least one regiment of the guard on standby in each continent of this world for 48 hours, I think we can expect an answer by then. Send a dispatch to the Lords of Caanin let them know what happened and that they need to keep an eye on their borderlands." Chad nodded once indicating her understood and took off down the hallway to his own office. Since Aurora had given him a commanding position in the guard, Chad had risen to the challenge of his new responsibilities in his position as liaison between the capital and the guard.

When Aurora entered her office the first thing she did was grab a legal pad and scribble down a few lines before ripping the page out of the notebook and handing it to Judith who was perched precariously on her desk.

"Go help Chad." Judith didn't hesitate to grab the piece of paper and run off down the hallway to follow Aurora's command.

"What was that?" Legolas indicated Judith's retreating figure.

"Oh it was just some extra details to the order I gave Chad." What Aurora wouldn't tell him was that written on that piece of paper was an order to mobilize a regiment of Witches in Middle Earth to protect Minas Tirith. If the Immortals wanted to hurt her, they would start there. There was silence in the room as Aurora started yanking books off the small bookshelf she kept in her office filled with history books.

"I hope you understand that destroying those people will not bring back the baby we lost." Aurora almost hadn't heard Legolas say that as she thumbed through a giant dusty tome. He knew well that she blamed them for her miscarriage almost as much as she blamed herself. Wasn't it the torture she had undergone as their prisoner that had left the scar tissue causing her to be unable to carry a child? Yes, Legolas knew that in Aurora's heart, she saw the blood of the lost baby on that civilization's hands.

" I know." She whispered and she hauled three large books over to her desk.

"Then how do you account for what happened in the Council room?"

"Okay, yes, I am mad at them! You caught me. But guess what? I am not the only one. Do you know how many lives they have destroyed? Hundreds if not thousands. Their streets are running with the blood of other nations. Death and destruction is all they live for! They are monsters. They have the rest of the universe terrified of them. The people they only just finished a war with, Caanin, not only did they decimate the population through sheer brute force, but they put chemicals in the water wells so at least a quarter of the population is now sterile, and the fields they destroyed? They salted the lands so nothing could grow there again, that's why Caanin came to us, begging for help to rebuild. If I were to wipe them from the face of their earth, no one, and I mean _no one_ would shed a tear for them."

"I do not believe you have the will to carry out such an act of tyranny, and I do not believe your people do either."

The snort of derision that escaped her throat earned her a nasty look from her husband. She would give him a little excuse since he was still learning about all the new cultures outside his own world.

"Fine," She reached up and put both her hands on the sides of his face and gave him a gentle kiss, " I will play by the rules according to our treaties, up until the point that the Immortals break the rules of engagement. And believe me, my love, they _will_ break the rules. And when they do, I will be there to unleash my full wrath upon them."


	8. Attempt

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 8: Attempt

Aurora had been right. The official declaration of war had come from the Seventh Dimensions Immortals, it had however; taken them over a week to reply to her dare. No one could say they were shocked at the length they had to wait; Aurora hadn't been lying when she said no one had risked open war against her people in over two thousand years. While their alliances had forced them to get involved in other people's skirmishes, the Witch nation hadn't truly been at war themselves for a very long time.

Leading an army from the sidelines as a Queen was a totally new experience for Aurora; she was so used to being on the front lines in the worst of the fighting, surrounded by blood and death on all sides. It didn't sit well with her to be sitting back and dictate orders to others. She was itching to be in the thick of it. Legolas seemed to have innately picked up on these urges that she was having, and half dragged her to Middle Earth in the middle of the month just to get her away from the stress. His wife was the type that thrived under the pressure of battle, which is how they had met after all. But after the miscarriage the elf was much more concerned about Aurora's mental state than whether or not she was there to lead her people. Chad's responsibility was to keep her sane, and he did an upstanding job by constantly relaying information to her from New York and from the generals. There hadn't been any large scales battles yet, but that didn't prevent Aurora from acting like this was Armageddon.

The stress of it all was already affecting her in very tangible ways. For nearly two weeks the Witch had been complaining about her Foresight being wonky, the clarity she had been enjoying in her visions for a few years now was much more like a foggy morning, she could only guess at what she was seeing. Flashes of visions that didn't fit together, often of nonsensical or just plain mundane occurrences. Legolas blamed it on the war; Aurora blamed it on stress in general and just accepted that she would be out of touch with her Gift for a while.

Even though she was resistant to admitting it, being in Mirkwood was therapeutic for her stress. There were no inter-Dimensional politics, no constant fires she needed to put out, only the important information made it way out here to the boonies, and that was exactly how she preferred it.

That morning had been beautiful; calm and sunny with the gentlest breeze tickling its way through the branches. Hand in hand, the elf and the witch walked around the palace grounds as Legolas entertained Aurora with stories of his childhood capers and how he had tormented the palace staff. She loved to hear about his childhood, hers having been stolen away it was nice to hear about a normal childhood that had occurred without trauma. Halfway through a story about stealing the cooks pots and pans Legolas suddenly stopped and gave her hand a gentle tug towards the tree line.

"Come, I want to show you the place where I would go in my youth when I wanted privacy." The wicked smile on his face indicated that was Legolas-code for 'I would like some privacy with you right now'. One of the few downfalls of staying in Mirkwood was that the palace was full of Elves…who could hear _everything._ Legolas knew that it still made her uncomfortable knowing everyone in the palace could hear them having sex, and he was very accommodating of it. As they started off into the secluded area of the forest together, Aurora burst into little school girl giggles.

"It just feels like we are doing something naughty, like breaking curfew or something," She explained in response to his quizzical look, which made him raise an eyebrow clearly more confused by her explanation than her laughter. He shrugged it off and chuckled at her. Even as Aurora tried to suppress her giggles, that familiar scratching feeling at the back of her mind started. Her laughter cut off suddenly and she stopped to look around at the surrounding trees. They hadn't made it very far inside the tree line, so the leaf cover wasn't terribly dense overhead.

"What worries you?" Legolas stared intently at her face, not following her gaze up into the low hanging branches of the surrounding trees.

"Nothing." She said flatly, shrugging off the foreboding feeling since she could not see any immediate danger. That turned out to be her second mistake of the day. They continued walking, but the atmosphere between them had changed, Aurora was slightly on edge; unable to shake the feeling her Foresight was trying desperately to tell her something. The sound of rustling in a tree to their right finally drew both their attention. Aurora saw the flash of white skin color between the tree leaves half a second after she heard the all too familiar _twang _of a crossbow being fired. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but no sounds escaped from her lips. A flash of green blurred her vision for a second followed by the distinct and unmistakable sounds of a crossbow bolt hitting home. Aurora waited for the sharp, concentrated pain of being hit, but instead felt a hue weight fall against her and she toppled to the ground. Her head collided solidly with the tightly packed earth and the unidentified weight crashed on top of her, forcing the air in her lungs to wheeze out between her lips.

Groaning she rolled out from beneath the weight on top of her, and realized in was her husband. Legolas lay on the earth completely unconscious, with a crossbow bolt protruding from the back of his right shoulder blade. Aurora leapt to her feet and searched the trees hastily looking for the shooter. She threw her hands up and splayed her fingers out, casting out a magical net that covered over their heads but just under the tree line…she would like to see another crossbow bolt make it through _that _spell. Kneeling next to Legolas she inspected the wound on his shoulder. The bolt was in their deep and he was bleeding profusely. And if the glistening shaft was any indicator, it was poisoned too.

"Help!" She shrieked over her shoulder in the direction of the palace. She knew the elves could hear her but she kept on screaming it for good measure. Placing Legolas' head on her lap, she stroked his hair in a comforting gesture as she saw Elves come running from the castle in response to her screaming. As the guards neared she gestured to the trees, "Shooter!"

Three elves immediately took to the trees in search of the mysterious source of the crossbow bolt; the rest under direction from Aurora carefully lifted Legolas' limp form and carried him back to the castle. As soon as they entered through the doors there was a flurry of movement and everything erupted into sound when the Elves realized their Prince had been shot. Aurora had her cell phone out and dialed Chad's number. Before the words, 'we were shot at' could even finish leaving her mouth, a portal opened and a mass of Witches stepped through. Four Master Healers immediately set upon her in a frenzy asking her a hundred questions a minute.

"Take care of Legolas first," She said breathlessly, feeling more than a little claustrophobic at how they crowded her. They ignored her. Aurora repeated her command a second time, raising her voice to be heard above their questioning. When they ignored her a second time, she completely lost control of her temper. With a shriek of rage she flung her arms out wide, the magical pulse she emitted threw everyone to the floor. "Take care of my husband first!" Her voice echoed around in the dead silence that now filled the hall. The Healers looked to each other, torn between the need to care for their sovereign, and not wanting to be on the receiving end of the wrath that would surely follow if they ignored her. Silently but quickly, they all chose to follow her command and scrambled to their feet to examine her husband.

"What the hell happened?" She hadn't even seen Chad standing there, red faced and grinding his teeth together. With a sigh she sat down heavily in a nearby chair and stared at her husbands' prostrate form lying helplessly on the table. Glancing down at herself she realized that some of his blood ad seeped into her own clothing, no wonder the Healers had been so intent on caring for her first.

"We were shot at. We were walking through the forest, we heard the rustle in the trees, I glanced up, heard the crossbow, next thing I know Legolas is on the ground with the bolt in his shoulder and the shooter was gone. I never saw him." Frustration had ebbed its way into her voice as she knew just how careless she had been with their safety.

"Not like we needed to, we're only at war with one nation." Chad pulled out a cell phone and sent a quick text message as he spoke.

"Don't you think that's jumping to conclusions? Why would the Immortals want Legolas dead?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized how stupid she sounded. The Immortals didn't want him dead, they wanted _her_ dead, and Legolas had been the unfortunate casualty. She let out a string of filthy curses when this dawned on her. That blur of green… her husband had jumped in front of her and took the crossbow bolt that had been meant to end her life.

"What are we going to do about it?" His tone indicated that Chad expected only one answer; eradicate the pest right off the face of the earth. But as she looked past her former student and to her husbands' bleeding form she remembered how Legolas tried to talk her out of this war. Tyranny. That's how he had referred to her plan to wipe out that culture.

"Blockade," She said simply. "Even in war time assassination attempts are illegal _if _the government funded it. We will cut off all travel, trade, and communication until their government hands over the assassin."

"I'm sorry, what?" Chad snapped after a long and heavy pause. Tansy suddenly appeared at his side, whether she had had impeccable timing or if she knew the situation needed to be diffused no one could ever say for sure.

"Don't argue with me; just do what I tell you to do." It was rude, but Aurora just waved to hand to excuse him. Chad was faithful and smart enough to convey her command to the generals. As he turned and walked away huffing and puffing in irritation, Aurora turned her attention to Tansy. "I told you all already, I want my husband cared for first before I get medical care."

"There are already plenty of Healers swarming over him, me being over there I'll just get in everyone's way. Just let me look you over so when anyone asks you can say you've already been looked at by a Healer." With a grumble the older witch finally consented. Tansy gingerly started to examine the back of her head and neck where she had been slammed into the ground.

"Have they told you anything?" Aurora inclined her head to indicate the Master Healers hovering by Legolas.

"The bolt was poisoned. Bloodroot. Dose on that thing would have killed you in minutes, but it isn't lethal for Elves. He's gonna be hurting, and he might wish he was dead, but he'll survive. More or less should just feel like he's got the flu."

"Bloodroot only grows in one place."

"You are right. And based on what I saw of the crossbow bolt, it's seventh Dimension. So either they aren't trying to hide the fact they attempted to off you, or they don't care if they get caught."

"Well, if our last meeting was any indication, they are taunting me. This is their little way of say 'we can find you and hurt you anywhere'." Aurora glanced over her student's head and her heart dropped out of her chest and to her toes when she saw one of the Healers rip the bolt out of Legolas' shoulder. "You know he tried so hard to convince me not to go to war. It's like he knew what kind of hell we were getting into, and _me _the FORESEER was blind to everything. I didn't see it happening, and I should have been able to. You know I made him a promise before we got married. I promised… I promised that we would…" She trailed off as her emotions overwhelmed her, biting the inside of her bottom lip to stay the tears pricking at her eyes. Tansy looked up at Aurora's face and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, there's no way he blames you for this. No way. Legolas adores you; everyone can see it in the way he looks at you. He might try to talk you out of some stuff but he supports you 100%." Aurora smiled in response to the words, but it was hollow and faked. She knew Tansy meant well, but words were of little comfort when your husband is lying on a table with four expert Healers trying to piece him back together because his wife started a war. Hollow comfort indeed. Tansy patted her shoulder and stood up, her simple exam finished. "Okay everything checks out. You both are gonna be fine."

"Both?" Aurora said in surprise and watched as her student nonchalantly started to pack up her small medical bag.

"Yeah" Tansy replied without missing a beat. Aurora caught her eye and they stared blankly at each other for a moment before it dawned on Tansy. "Holy crap you don't know do you?"

"Know what?" Fear had embedded itself in the pit of her stomach for reasons she couldn't explain.

"Aurora you're…" She glanced around and then lowered her voice, "You're pregnant, and you're a full month along already. How did you not notice?" Aurora put her head in her hands, and the thin control she had exhibited over her emotions finally broke like a water main, and she started to sob loudly. How hadn't she noticed? Well it could be that their nation was at war, it could be she had ignored the subtle telltale signs such as her foresight not functioning properly, but mostly because after months of going to the Healers for therapy she simply had lost faith that it would ever happen.

"Happy tears?" Tansy squeaked. Aurora didn't have enough control of herself to speak, but she nodded vigorously in response. Having a child had been an all-consuming thought for the past year, not only because they had both wanted children but for a more pressing reason, and such good news couldn't have come on a better day. This day had brought to light the exact reasons for Aurora wanting to avoid the throne, and more than that, the promise she and Legolas had made before they ever even got married. That night in Minas Tirith before the raid on Mordor seemed so long ago now, but the promise was still fresh in her mind. Having a baby was joyous event that would not only complete their family but would also provide an heir for her people. But it also meant that they could finally leave.


	9. Storm clouds

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 9: Storm clouds

Legolas had been moved to a bed in the palace when the Healers had finished patching him up. Despite their profound assurances that he would be fine, Aurora couldn't help but notice that here was always at least one Healer hovering about outside his rooms at all hours of the day. Which was precisely where Aurora had parked herself in the hours since the attack, in a chair next to his bed, and she hadn't left since. Needless to say she wasn't particularly concerned with her own wellbeing while her husband lay unconscious trying to fight off some of the most lethal poison that nature had to offer. Tansy, in true form, did care about Aurora's well-being , if only for the sake of the baby, and would bring food and water periodically. Had Legolas been awake he would have chided her severely for taking such poor care of her pregnant self.

Aurora placed a hand on her flat belly and smiled as she thought of the life growing inside of her. She couldn't wait to tell Legolas, if he woke up that is. _When_ she scolded herself internally. As if he could hear her chiding herself, Legolas let out a soft groan; if the room hadn't been dead silent she never would had heard it. Softly, Aurora stroked the feather light blonde hair away from his face. From experience she could say there were few things as agitating as waking up to a face full of hair. Legolas' eyes opened to mere slits and he let out a more audible moan of pain, he hated sleeping in his stomach so she knew he was incredibly uncomfortable. Of course having to sleep on his stomach was a mere door prize compared to the nausea, migraine, body aches, and dehydration that being poisoned offered up as the main event. Aurora in turn touched the gentlest kiss to his forehead.

"I have never in all my years felt so…"

"Shitty?" Aurora offered up the end of his sentence. "Good. Dummy. Jumping in front of crossbow bolts like that. You could have been killed!"

Legolas seemed briefly confused by the hostility in Aurora's voice, but it wasn't often that he was the one lain out on a bed having been stitched back together by Healers, therefore he didn't often get to hear the bizarre way in which Aurora masked her concern and anxiety.

"Why…"

"Do you feel like you kissed the M train?" Again Aurora finished his sentence for him. " Someone tried to kill me, and hit you instead. The crossbow bolt you were shot with was poisoned with a plant that only grows in the Seventh Dimension, it's lethal to Witches and a few other species, and thankfully it's not as harmful to elves."

"You are welcome." And they both laughed at Legolas' attempted sarcasm. Aurora leaned forward in her chair and laid her head in the pillow next to Legolas'.

"What the hell were you thinking? What would I even do if I lost you?" She tangled her fingers in with his and she could feel herself getting emotional. That awful dry feeling like having swallowed sand which was a certain indicator of crying was starting in the back of her throat. He gave her fingers a tender squeeze of reassurance as his only response and looked at her with love in his eyes. His actions had been spurned by the same thing that fueled most her actions in Middle Earth. Love made you a stupid creature, and that was that.

"You can't do that anymore. I need you around. _We_ need you around" She added that last part after a slight hesitation. She wanted so badly to tell him about the baby, it was amazing that it hadn't fallen out of her mouth as soon as he was conscious again, but more than that she really wanted him to focus on getting better. In the end she reasoned that having something to get better faster for was only a good thing. Legolas adjusted himself slightly to look more fully at Aurora's face when he heard the emphasis she put on the pronoun 'we'. The elation she felt, or maybe the struggle she was having holding the news in, must have been written in her face in bold script because Legolas' reaction was immediate.

He sat up quickly, despite the obvious fact it made him instantly and dreadfully nauseous, and scooped her up into his arms. His lips found hers in a feverous passion that one afflicted with poisoning shouldn't really be capable of.

"Really? Truly?" He whispered in her ear when their lips finally parted.

"Yes," Aurora gasped, slightly out of breath from the kiss, "The Master Healer confirmed it after Tansy told me. A healthy growing baby."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a loving embrace, only to be rewarded with a hiss of pain being sucked between her husband's teeth. In their moment of bliss she had forgotten the whole reason her husband was in here. Her arms snapped back to her sides to prevent inflicting further pain. "I'm sorry. You need to rest. Go back to sleep, I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you." She slid off her newly acquired position on the bed with Legolas and walked towards the door. Legolas didn't bother to protest, he was putting up a good front though Aurora knew from familiarity that being poisoned by anything was truly unpleasant experience. The only thing that she could do was make him as comfortable as possible and be supportive as he fought off the short lived albeit intense flu-like symptoms.

She closed the door quietly behind her as she exited the room, and gave a small yelp when she turned and came face to face with Ray.

"Sorry," He mumbled sheepishly, but Aurora knew him too well to think he didn't get some perverse pleasure out of scaring her like that. She rolled her eyes at him and turned to walk away without a measurable response. It had become common place to run into other Witches in Mirkwood since the attack happened, especially if they were members of the guard. Ray had enlisted immediately after his graduated from the School, a decision Aurora had given her full and heartfelt consent to. Seeing him standing there now in his nondescript gray guards uniform made her sad that it had come to this. Mirkwood was her place of solace, a place in the universe totally untouched by the politics and danger of the other Dimensions. It was selfish of her to think of it that way, and she could accept that about herself. Not to mention she knew it irked Thranduil to have his realm overrun by Witches, even though he maintained his tolerance of other cultures.

As she started down the hall away from her husband's room and towards the common rooms, Aurora became keenly aware that there was another set of steps following behind her. Glancing over he shoulder she saw keeping pace perhaps ten steps behind her.

"Can I help you?" Abruptly she stopped in the hallway and turned to look at the Pyro.

"Nope." He always had been a man of few words. Aurora wasn't in the mood for the games and pranks that Ray had a particular fondness for. Her nerves were on edge and her patience had been worn raw over the botched assignation attempt that had very nearly claimed Legolas' life. Not to mention she was right at the perfect stage during her first trimester where pregnancy hormones were going to start to make her crazy over every little thing of every single day.

"Ray why are you following me? Shouldn't you be guarding my husband?"

"No, " he chuckled indignantly. "My job is to protect you. They were trying to kill you not him."

"Then why haven't you left your post outside the bedroom for two days?"

"Because _you _didn't leave the bedroom for two days," Ray threw his hands up in exasperation. If there was one thing she could appreciate about her students graduating into government jobs, it was that despite the change in her title, there hadn't been a change in the way they treated her. In the world of being a ruler and politics there was an absurd amount of faked politeness, kowtowing, and 'yes men'. Her students didn't feed her that line of crap. And in a position where power can easily go to your head and make you an egotistical maniac, it was nice to be treated like the average idiot out on the street.

"Whose brilliant idea what is to assign me a guard without consulting me in the first place?" In response to her question, Ray just raised his eyebrows making it evident that she should have just assumed the answer before asking the question. Without bothering to continue the conversation with Ray, she spun dramatically on her heel and marched at a much faster pace than she originally had when she set off for the common room.

Hastening into the large room that Thranduil had graciously lent her to conduct official Witch business while she was in Mirkwood, Aurora only saw a small smattering of aides and guards compared to the large host that was normally vying for her attention. Tansy sat on a chaise reading a book that was clearly related to childbirth, and Aurora made a mental note to inform her former student to keep her current condition on the down low. Last thing she needed was the stress that pregnancies rumors would start.

"Where is he?" She demanded of the Healing student. Tansy barely glanced over the rim of the book to answer the question that hung between them.

"Haven't seen him, " Tansy replied lazily.

"What do you mean you haven't seen him?" At this point she was seething and her words escaped her mouth through clenched teeth in a hiss.

"I mean he left explicit instructions that you were not to be bothered and then he left didn't tell me where to, haven't seen him since last night." The blithe way Tansy responded matched with the disregarding wave of her hand infuriated Aurora beyond words.

"And that didn't seem strange to you? That he just up and left one day and didn't tell you where he was going?" The look of disbelief on her face made Tansy doggy ear the page she was reading and set the book down slowly.

"No I figured he was on some kind of official business for you so I didn't bother to question him, just kind of accepted what he said. Is he in some kind of trouble?"

"He sure is now. This is beyond unacceptable, he just shirks his responsibility and disappears for a day? No. The second he is back or makes contact you let me know. He is in for a world of hurt." Beyond the fact that he hadn't told her anything about him leaving, what really perturbed the young queen was the realization that is was exactly what she had done to people for years. She certainly wasn't in the mood for that kind of irony being shoved down her throat. She spun on her heels and started to stomp back to the room like a small child to where her husband lay.

"How much trouble could he get in in just one day?" The question hadn't been meant for Aurora to hear, she could tell by the way Tansy had only mumbled it loud enough for her book to hear if it could. Normally Aurora would have been inclined to agree, Chad was very smart and not prone to getting involved in trouble. It wasn't until two days later, when an ambassador from the Seventh Dimension showed up in Mirkwood, that she realized how wrong she was about the amount of trouble Chad was capable of.


	10. Treason

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 10: Treason

Aurora woke up with a gasp. Opening her eyes she studied the ceiling for a few seconds before she remembered where she was. Slowly she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and steadied her breathing.

"Everything alright my love?" Legolas stood across the bedroom dressing for the day. As time had gone on, Aurora finally convinced her husband that, since he hardly slept, he could just get up and start his day without her instead of waiting in bed until she woke up.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a …weird dream." She ran her fingers through her hair to work the knots out that had had tangles themselves while she slept. Legolas came over and sat next to her on the bed.

"Care to talk about it?"

"Well there not much to talk about, my dreams have gotten very cryptic again. But it _looked _like a trial for, I don't know maybe treason? What was weird about it is that there were ambassadors from the Seventh Dimension there. I don't know" She shrugged and got off the bed to dress herself for the day, "I'm not going to stress myself about it. Pregnancy really messes with Foresight so it's probably nothing."

Before Legolas could respond to her blatant disregard of her dreaming, an urgent pounding at the door drew their attention. "Come in!" Aurora said as she finished pulling her shirt on over her tangle of blonde hair.

Judith poked her head in the door looking very flustered, "We have a problem."

"Wouldn't be Monday if there wasn't a problem," Aurora sighed as she pulled a brush violently through her hair. "Give me a second and I'll be there." Judith didn't even bother to respond before she disappeared behind the door and could be heard retreating down the hallway.

"What was that about?" Legolas turned his attention back to his wife. Again Aurora could only shrug.

"Guess we are gonna find out." Together the Elf and Witch left the bedroom and made the short trek to the common rooms down the hall where Judith and the 'problem' were no doubt anxiously waiting. As they neared the room there were raised voices, and Aurora could distinctly make out the accent spoken by the Immortals in the Seventh Dimension. "And Monday morning it is." She mumbled to no one in particular.

"Ambassador, good morning." Her hostility was thinly veiled, but damned if she could force a smile first thing on a coffee-less Monday morning.

"Queen Aurora, Prince Legolas, I trust you know what has happened?" Aurora sat down next to her husband and indicated that the ambassador should take the seat across the table from them.

"Ya know since I've been here my newspapers haven't been forwarded so I'm pretty far behind on my inter-Dimensional news and my baseball stats." Legolas obviously didn't appreciate her sarcasm based on the sidelong glance her sardonic barb at the ambassador earned her. Instead of dignifying her attitude by answering her back, the ambassador simply threw a stack of pictures on the table that was between them. Sliding them closer to herself, she quickly flipped through the mysterious stack of color prints. Legolas turned his head away in disgust when it became apparent what was on the paper.

"Well that's a gruesome thing to see right before breakfast." The image of a horribly mangled, bloody, and partially de-limbed body of what she could only guess had been a person at one point.

"Don't have the stomach to see your own handiwork?" The ambassador took the photos as Aurora slid them back across the table.

"I beg your pardon?"

"This body was found this morning on our Capitol building front steps. A little peculiar don't you think?"

"Well I don't know, how strange is it that you find random bodies lying around?" It sounded a little too distinctly to Aurora like she was being accused of murder, and that is not how one wants to start out their work week.

"I mean it is peculiar that the suspect we had asked to come in for questioning in regards to that attempt on your husband's life was found battered and quite dead by means of magic before we could talk to him."

Aurora leaned forward with a snide look on her face matched with a slightly arrogant smile pulling at one corner of her mouth. "And by 'suspect' of course you mean the person your government hired, and by 'question' you mean silence forever so that my people can't connect him to you? Can't say he didn't earn the way his life ended."

"That is a terribly calloused perspective on his death don't you think?"

"Please excuse me if I don't shed a tear at the fact that the man who tried to kill me and nearly killed my husband is dead. I had nothing to do with it, but I can guarantee that is was a far more merciful end that he met, than if I had been the one to find him first." It was the blatant truth. If Aurora had found this man first, he would barely be a pile of ashes. The change in the atmosphere brought about by attitude indicated to the ambassador that this meeting had come to an end. In the spirit of his people though, he had one last critical piece of information to zing Aurora with.

"We have proof that this man was killed by magic. There were traces of Mentalism energy left on his body, so whichever of your people killed him was not careful about cleaning up after themselves." If Legolas hadn't been watching for Aurora's reaction, he would have missed the incredibly subtle twitch of her mouth when the Immortal said 'mentalism'. The ambassador then slid a single leaf of paper across the table at them, which Aurora did not pick up. She didn't really need to in order to read it. The words 'Next time, hide your murderers better' was written in barely legible chicken scratch across the paper in blood. As she stared at the paper, everyone in the room could see the change in her demeanor, from on the offensive to compliant.

"Well of course ambassador you can assure your leaders that if this brutal attack was orchestrated by one of my people, he will be found in a timely manner and punished according to the severity of his crime." She even managed to force a perfectly diplomatic smile. If Legolas and Judith hadn't been sitting in the room a moment before, they never would have believed the change in her attitude.

"I appreciate that you will. This sort of thing if left to fester can make war so much worse for everyone." And with that horribly snide remark, the Ambassador opened a portal and stepped through back to his own Dimension. Aurora waited two beats before she was on her feet snatching the note off the table.

"Don't wait up for me." The comment was directed at her husband but Judith was the one who answered.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna kill him." With the bloody note clenched tight in one hand, she didn't bother to wait for a response to her statement, and made the short Dimensional jump to New York. She had transported directly to the Capital building the place she was most likely to find her suspect. She entered her Dimension not two feet in front of a young page girl, scaring the wits out of her and causing her to jump and drop the stack of papers she was carrying, causing a flurry of white around them .

"Where?" The tone in her one word question must have terrified the poor girl even more than she already was, because the only reply she was able to give was the point down the hallway to door that led to Chad's meager office he shared with another liaison to the guard. Aurora didn't even bother to thank the page , she simply headed in the direction she had pointed. Based on how people ducked out of her way as she barged her way down the hall, she could only imagine a storm cloud with lightning bolts shooting everywhere following her much like in the old cartoons featuring talking rabbits. When she reached her destination, she flung the door open so hard that for a moment she thought she had ripped in entirely from its hinges. Chad's eyes, along with the man he was working with, immediately left the paper he was studying and looked to her.

"Get out." She commanded the other man in the room, and he complied without pause. With a flick of her wrist, she slammed the already battered wooden door behind his retreating figure. The loud boom it made when it shut tight no doubt drew the attention of everyone on that floor level. "What did you do Chad?"

"Excuse me?" He actually had the audacity to try and look innocent.

"What did you do? . ?!" She bit off each word as she took several menacing steps in his direction. Their eyes met over the desk, and where she expected to see shame or even remorse reflecting in his youthful eyes, she was met by sheer unadulterated rebellion.

"I did what you and your laws would not allow you to do."

"You stupid, insolent, child!" Her shriek filled the small room to its breaking point as he confirmed her suspicions. "Do you have any idea what the hell you have done? Do you?!"

"I did what I felt I needed to in order…" But Aurora didn't let him finished before another flip of her wrist threw his desk against the wall with a loud crash; sending paper, books, miscellaneous writing utensils, and even splinters of wood flying everywhere.

"You know nothing. And if you could even being to understand the mess you have caused for me, for this entire nation, hell even for yourself, you would drop to your knees and beg to be forgiven."

"His death was justifiable!" Chad had lowered his voice, but he clung tightly to the stubborn tone.

"It was murder, and it was treason!" There was a heavy silence that followed her words, filling the room like poisonous smoke.

"What?" Her words had sucked all the defiance right out of Chad's argument, like ripping the wind right out of ship's sail.

"You killed a government agent in a different Dimension. Don't you understand? You committed the same crime that the assassin did. You violated our people's laws not to mention out treaties." The flood of emotion that overtook Aurora as she spoke almost made her feel like she was drowning, everything from anger to overwhelming sadness. "If the Seventh Dimension Immortals were to ask for your head on a platter, not only would they be perfectly within their rights, but I would be obliged to accommodate their demand."

"Are you going to?" He sounded more like a small child now than the rebellious teen he had a moment ago.

"Hand you over to them? Of course not. But you sealed your own fate and you forced my hand. I knew their government had hired that assassin to kill me, and according to our laws they had 5 days to hand him over to us for judgment or we had full rights to invade their land. You messed that up when you killed him _and_ on top of that, switch the tables so now _we_ are stuck with the assassin in our own government." Aurora gestured to Chad to drive her point home.

"So what now?"

"Now? Now we have to find a punishment that will sate their government. You will be tried for treason, which you could be _hung_ for you damn fool. Why couldn't you have just listened to me? And did you really think you wouldn't get caught? Not only did you leave a magical marker from your Gift, but I can recognize your handwriting to with relative ease. I did used to grade your papers you know."

"I really thought I was doing what was right, I wanted to help. I wanted to protect you and to live up to my duties and expectations." The sincerity in his eyes almost deflated Aurora's anger towards him. Almost.

"I understand that, but you broke the law Chad, and nothing can make up for that."

"What can I do then?" In response to his question Aurora simply strode across the room to him, and took his head in her heads. Resting her forehead against his, she simply let the silence hang between them as her body shook with the gentle tremors that her waning rage had left her with. Her mind was racing with plans and ideas, some way to get this boy…man….who for so long had been her responsibility out of trouble. But for all the power she held in the government, and for how badly she wanted to maneuver to get him off the hook, in her heart she knew the best thing for him was to deal with the consequences like an adult, and like any other functioning member of her society.

"Pray," She finally whispered, "Pray that the Beings are merciful and protect you. Because I cannot."


	11. Sentencing

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people from Lord of the Rings. These people belong to the beloved J.R.R Tolkien. My only people are Aurora, Chad, Tansy, Arianna, Judith, Ray, Hazel, Prince Bardis, and the witch's council. Please don't use them without my permission. But if you ask...maybe.

Chapter 11: Sentencing

Even surrounded by a hundred people, Aurora had never felt so alone in her time as the sole reigning entity of her people. Standing alone on the dais of the ceremony hall, it occurred to her humorlessly that the two defining moments of her rule up to this point will have taken place in this very room. It mildly annoyed her to know that the memories she had from the happiest day of her life when she had married Legolas, were going to be sullied by the events that occurred here today.

She could feel their eyes; dignitaries, ambassadors, and Dimension leaders ; one hundred pairs eyes watching her, judging her, waiting for a sign of weakness from her. Everything about this situation made her seethe from the very core of her being; there was nothing Aurora wanted more to wake up from this like it was a dream. Exactly, in fact like the dream she had disregarded as the effect of pregnancy hormones just earlier this week. It never ceased to amaze her the way the tide could turn so quickly.

The sound of the door opening at the other end of the hall tore Aurora away from her reminiscence and drew her attention to the gut wrenching site of Chad being led into the hall escorted by two members of the Guard, one on each flank. Her throat instantly tightened when their eyes locked, but she set her jaw tightly to that no one would see that she had no stomach for what she was about to so.

" Chadonoda Vejas," She began as he came to a stop at the bottom of the two steps that led to the dais, " you have been called here today in front of this inter-Dimensional jury to account for the crimes that have been laid against you; Crossing the Dimensional border with intent to commit murder, which is treason in the third degree." She paused to steady her voice and dared a look at the faces around her. The smug look of victory that the ambassador and dignitary from the Seventh Dimension Immortal clan were wearing made her want to give Chad a medal of honor instead of the punishment coming his way. At this point she had no choice though. Once the evidence had been put before the Council, it hadn't taken all of one hour to determine Chad's guilt and his fate to be decided.

"After much deliberation the Council and I have come to a decision. While we can understand that your actions were taken in a misguided service of your people, we cannot ignore that you broke the law and our treaty agreement with such a gross disregard for the consequences of your actions. However, despite the request from Mistarei that your treasonous acts be rewarded with a death warrant, we have unanimously decided _against_ capital punishment for your crime." She sent a pointed angry look towards the dignitary from the Immortal Clan before turning back to Chad.

"We have decided that your magic shall be Bound until such a time as we feel your sentence has been fulfilled. Please kneel." It was then that Chad raised his eyes to meet Aurora's, and they were full of unadulterated defiance. His jaw was set in a straight line and his brows were gathered together in an angry glare. In her heart Aurora knew that as surely as she had just passed judgment upon Chad, he too had made a judgment on her for being the hand that dealt his punishment. There was a tense moment as they stared each other down before Chad followed the command to kneel, never taking his eyes off her as he slowly descended to his knees. Aurora amazed herself that her knees were able to hold her up as she shakily managed her way down the two small steps to stand on the same level that Chad was now kneeling on.

"Raise your hands." Second small miracle that she was able to talk around the ever growing lump in her throat. A muscle twitched in Chad's jaw as he begrudgingly lifted his arms to shoulder height, and cross them at the wrist like he was being arrested, which wasn't the most inaccurate association. Gently she rested a hand where his wrists crossed one over the other, and leaned over so her lips were centimeters from his ear.

"When you are on the throne," her voice was the gentlest of whispers, meant only to be heard by Chad, " when you are in my position, you will understand the choices I have had to make." As her voice faded away she tightened her fingers around his wrists, and plunged deep within his aura to weave the spell to bind his powers. A faint blue set of shackles appeared over Chad's wrists, glowed dimly for a second before melding into his skin. As the glow disappeared, his body went slack and he let out a groan of agony as he slumped to the floor. The guards who had held back after escorting Chad into the hall drew forward then to grip his arms and half dragged him out of the hall. There may have been some ceremonial tradition Aurora was supposed to complete, but watching her student be dragged from society in shame was far more than she was capable of swallowing. Chad was barely out of sight before Aurora swiftly left the hall. She knew people wanted to talk to her and there was some ceremony she was supposed to stand on when it came to appeasing those animals from the Immortal Clan, but she couldn't have cared less if she tried. She did not make eye contact with anyone and she never slowed her pace, out of the hall up the stairs, around the corner, short walk to her office.

The door gently clicked shut behind her, giving her solace in the fact she was alone. Leaning all her weight against her office door, Aurora slid to the ground and sat there in a heap against the door jam, trying not to shake. Unconsciously she started to wring her hands together, partially to prevent tremors, but mostly to suppress the urge she had welling up inside to scrub her skin raw with a Brillo pad. But even that wouldn't erase the dirty feeling that was creeping over her skin because of what she had just done. Aurora didn't know how long she sat there, but a small shaft of light that had been peeking in through the window grew longer on the floor before it began to fade. A gentle tapping on the door made her realize she had probably been sitting there for close to an hour and her legs were quite stiff and sore by this point. Groaning and using the door as leverage, she pushed up to a standing position despite the protests of her muscles.

Turning the door handle just enough to crack the door open and let whoever was on the other side know it was okay to enter, Aurora turned and headed to her desk without caring to look who entered the office. In reality she wasn't too surprised to see Hazel shutting the door behind her before coming over and sitting opposite Aurora at the desk.

"That went well," Hazel commented lightly, earning her a dark look from the young queen. Hazel watched silently as Aurora rested her forehead flat against the dark wooden desk and then gently beat her head against it a few times before the younger witch addressed her long time mentor.

"I'm going to destroy this empire."

"Oh nonsense," Hazel said with a chuckle.

"Seriously. I never thought I was going to be like my parents; a beacon of strength and leadership, but at the very least I was hoping to leave this world off less of a mess than it was."

"And who says you are not?"

"Hazel, my people are at war, something that hasn't happened in a few _thousand_ years, the Council wants to denounce my child as heir and break my bloodlines , and I just banished my star pupil from our civilization. Yeah I'm off to a great start." There was a moment of silence from the other side of the desk as Hazel stared down the youngest descendant of her lineage.

"Off to a bad start? You were directly involved in saving Middle Earth from a power crazed warlord, you have risked your life and wellbeing a thousand times over for the safety of other cultures, not to mention you had litigated hundreds of peace treaties."

"And I influenced Chad…"

"Stop right there," Hazel immediately cut off her former student, " Chad made a decision as an adult to do something that he believed was ins service of his people. You think he didn't know the consequences before he committed that crime? Aurora two days ago he _asked_ me what the punishment for treason was. He knew. He accepted that what he was going to do was been seen as wrong in the eyes of our laws and that you would have to punish him for it. Chad did it for you, he did it for our people. And may I remind you that if it hadn't been for your tutelage, Chad never would have been in the position to make that kind of sacrifice. If my information is still correct, Chad's father is serving a life sentence for illegal Dimensional trafficking in a jail in Siberia. And Judith and Ray? Their parents are long dead, without you they never had a shot in our society. Tansy? Grew up in a remote village in South America, where her family was hidden in disgrace and her talents never would have encouraged. You brought her and her family to New York so she could study and improve her talents. And lest we forget Arianna, who was literally living on the lowest rung of her people's society because she was half bred Pixie and Witch. Her life would have been forfeit if she had been left in that Dimension. And now look, she is an ambassador, serving both her peoples simultaneously. Yes you influenced your students, and thank the Beings you did."

Aurora could only sit in stunned silence. She had been chided by her former teacher many, many times before, but never like that. And certainly not since she had been queen. It made her feel like a small child, dressed up in her mother clothes, playing at being an adult but in way over her head.

"Hazel how can I fix this?" Her voice sounded small even to herself.

"I do not have an answer for that. What I will tell you if that you need to stop hiding in here like a child and go be a leader. Stand up, dust yourself off, and get out there are be a queen to your people, who are currently just as confused as you are. You will carry on with grace and poise like you know you aught, now get out there and support your husband who is holding everything together for you out there. My goodness you have been so overly emotional lately what is up with you?"

Aurora froze halfway through standing up from her chair, caught off guard by Hazel's exasperated tone and her question. Crouched in a strange position with one hand on her desk, the younger witch glanced at her mentor like a deer in the headlights. Officially only Aurora, Legolas, and a handful of Healers knew. So either Hazel already had seen something with her Foresight and was trying to get a confession out of Aurora, or she honestly truly had no idea. Straightening herself up, Aurora brushed her dress off slowly trying to buy a little time to weigh out the options in her mind.

"Hazel….Legolas and I are expecting." The words tasted foreign on her tongue, fact was Aurora had to remind herself that she was pregnant almost daily. She had been ready for many reactions, from overjoyed elation to stunned silence, even anger at having not been told right away. But Hazel's reaction…. The way her eyes narrowed in an almost accusatory manner, wasn't anything Aurora had been waiting for.

"Expecting?" Why the hell did Hazel sound so angry for?

"Yes. I am pregnant, though I am not due for many months still. We decided that because of the war we would not make the announcement officially until I was ready to give birth, for the child's safety." Her voice was becoming meeker as she spoke directly related to how angry Hazel was looking. The older witch took a step in her direction causing Aurora to immediately take a step back from the menacing aura her teacher was giving off.

"I have had some very strange visions lately. I feel it is incumbent upon me to remind you that when you took the throne you made a _blood oath_ to your people. First and foremost your duty is to your people. _Your people." _ Hazel bit off those last two words, spun around and slammed the door behind her as she exited the room.

Aurora flinched with the loud slam the door made. Of course. Of course Hazel would know. As silly as it sounded, Aurora sometimes forgot she wasn't the only Foreseer around. As soon as Aurora had found out she was pregnant, she had begun her master plan…. And the second that decision had been made, it would have affected Hazel's visions. So the older witch knew. That was going to complicate things severely for her and Legolas. They would have to tread carefully now, Hazel would be watching every step they made. If Hazel knew what Aurora was planning, that meant the older witch was going to be actively trying to prevent Aurora's plan from taking effect, and that was something the young queen couldn't abide by. She had made a promise to her husband about the life they would have away from all this mess, and it was a promise that Aurora intended to keep.


End file.
